Core Record

Title

STALYBRIDGE WAR MEMORIAL

Collection

Public Monuments and Sculpture Association

Sculptor

Blundstone, Ferdinand Victor

Date Completion

1920

Date Design

1919-20

Description

Bronze statuary group on ashlar plinths. Walls which are segmental in plan, terminated on either side of Trinity st in pillars with statues. Square piers with swept abutments, crests of arms and moulded bases carry winged angelic figurtes supporting dying battle-clad figures; the to the west a soldier and the east a sailor. The segmental walls carry polished granite plaques bearing the rolls of honour and are terminated in carved stone lions on square piers.(1)

Additional Information

628 men of Stalybridge who fell in Great War. Statuary represents sacrifice of military an naval sevices each containing names of significant campaigns on land and sea.

Id Number Current Accession

MR/TAM09

Id Number Current Repository

MRTAM091

Inscription

On west side of pedestal: ALL YOU WHO PASS BY/REMEMBER WITH GRATITUDE/THE MEN OF STALYBRIDGE/WHO DIED FOR YOU/

On east side: REMEMBER THE LOVE OF THEM WHO/CAME NOT HOME FROM THE WAR/ SEE YOU TO IT THAT THEY SHALL/NOT HAVE DIED IN VAIN.

On pedestal supporting angel and soldier: 1914-1918/THE MARNE/YPRES/THE SOMMEUnder lion (East Side): 1939-1945/NOW HEAVEN IS BY THE YOUNG INVADED/THEIR LAUGHTER’S IN THE HOUSE OF GOD/On railings (East side): May their deeds be held in reverenceEast side on pier between lion and fencing: FLANDERS/GALLIPOLI/SALONIKA/ITALY/SOUTH WEST AFRICAOn pedestal supporting angel and sailor: 1914-1918/JUTLAND/ZEEBRUGGE/THE FALKLAND ISLANDSUnder lion on West side: FLANDERS/PALESTINE/MESOPOTAMIA/EGYPT/EAST AFRICA

In a few months, the subscription fund had amassed £5,000 for the Stalybridge war memorial. Since the cost of the plan was only £4,200, the remainder was "devoted to furthering the education and interest generally of children of the fallen." Nearly 24,000 people attended the unveiling, a figure nearly equal to the post war population of Stalybridge. The Ashton Reporter commented that "never in the history of Stalybridge had there been such a gathering of people." The unveiling was performed by "the War Mayor" Alderman Bottomley, who declared that the names of the fallen were not only engraved on the memorial, but were "engraven on our hearts." The memorial was dedicated by the Rural Dean of Mottram, the Rev. Canon T. H. Sheriff. The inaugural procession was led by two former members of the Cheshire Regiment, ex-privates Joseph Lowden and Henry Roberts, both of whom had been blinded in the war, and who laid the first wreaths. They were followed by another former private from the same regiment, Ernest Sykes, V. C. Soon after the ceremony the whole base of the wall (some thirty metres) was covered with flowers and wreaths were hung from the outstretched arms of the statues, "all lain there with reverent hands on the shrine which has been erected to keep their memory green in the minds of the living, and the noble part they played unforgotten through succeeding generations." One wreath, from the employees of the Joint Board, said, "These men played the game."(2)